Never Had a Dream Come True
by padme's sister
Summary: Luke is taking Leia and her husband Han back to Naboo so that he can find out more about the mother he never knew, but Leia's unnaturaly uncomfortable with the whole idea. Does she know something Luke doesn't?
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note: Hey guys. This is just a little story I decided to write after the idea appeared in my head while I was daydreaming in class one day...oops!**

**Anyways, basically, its set one year after Return of the Jedi, and Leia and Han (now married) are accompanying Luke on a journey to Naboo. Luke recently found out that this was where his mother was buried, and seeing as he never knew her, he decided that now was as good a time as any to find out about her...starting with a journey to her tomb.**

**But there's someone on Naboo who is about to change their lives forever. Who is it, and what do they do? You'll have to wait and see.**

**Inspired, but NOT COPIED from a story called 'My Mother' by EsmeAmelia?(need to check that out to find out if i spelt it right!). Thanks for such a wonderful idea!**

The stars shone brighter this night than they had for a long time. Leia found them magical as she gazed out of the window into the black space.

She wanted to stay here and gaze at them forever, but unfortunately, her husband didn't share the same idea.

A moment later, the _Millenium_ _Falcon_ lurched and jolted, throwing Leia against the window. Then the stars became nothing but streaks as they made the jump to hyperspace, the ship jerking, jolting and threatening to fall apart at any moment. It was no wonder people called it a bucket of bolts.

"You alright?" Luke asked worriedly as Leia peeled herself away from the window and rubbed her forehead. She smiled and nodded at her brother, secretly cursing him for dragging her on this awful journey. However, Luke was so excited, that she didn't want to spoil the mood with harsh words, so she kept silent.

"We'll arrive at Naboo in a few hours," came Han's voice from the cockpit, and a moment later he emerged, followed by his co-pilot Chewbacca, the gigantic wookie who was a loyal friend to all of them.

"Who wants a game?" he asked, nodding towards the sabaac table that Luke was sitting at.

"No, thanks," Leia sighed, turning back to the window and trying to focus at the speeding stars. She gave up in the end, feeling terribly light headed.

"Leia, whats up?" Luke asked, getting up and going over to her. Han quickly stole his seat and he and Chewie began a rather noisy version of sabaac with pleanty of growls and curses from both sides.

"I...I'm just not sure that I want to do this..." Leia sighed at last. Luke smiled sympathetically and wrapped his brotherly arm around her. With his other arm, the mechanical one, he began drawing on the window where Leia's breath had steamed it up.

"I know that it will be hard for you, but I have to know. You can stay on the ship if you really don't want to come, but I must know. Can't you understand that?"

"Of course I can Luke," Leia replied, knowing that she was being selfish. "I'm sorry. I'll come with you. After all, she was my mother too."

**A/N: I'm sorry this was such a short chapter, but it was only the introduction. I've written a few more chapters after this, but I must get back to finishing Naboo first, so this might take a while to get started. Never fear, it will, I promise you!**


	2. Chapter 2

Author Note: Oh Wow! I'm so glad you like this! I'm not really sure where I'm going with it for a moment, I got loads of ideas...hmmm...we'll see...but anyway, thanks so much for the sweet reviews **AnakinVanhelsingLegolaSkywalker92 **and **Rhyza.** I'm glad to hear that you like my work...

oOo

Naboo was like no other planet any of them had ever visited. Leia had always thought Alderaan was beautiful, but this place put it to shame.

The great City of Theed was in many ways the same as Coruscant, with freighters and shuttles coming down from teh skies in lines. Unlike Coruscnat, however, this city was soft in appearance, with few towering, imposing skyscrapers of hard metal and shining transparisteel. The buildings here were made of stone and other materials, with rounded rooflines and delicate, pastel colours. Vines of all sorts were everywhere, crawling up the sides of buildings, adding vibrancy and scents. Adding comfort. Every now and then they would shower a passer by in soft, coloured petals.

The great palace ahead shimmered in the sunlight, and the air smelt sweatly of flowers. In the distance was the soft sound of waterfalls.

"This place is so beautiful," Leia gasped as she took in the breathtaking sights. They were all walking down the main street.

Han and Luke were a little way ahead, talking about some repairs that the Falcon needed, whilst Leia was walking with Chewie and the droids.

Artoo let out a long, drawn out whistle and everyone turned round, staring at him in confusion. They waited for Threepio to translate.

"He says that he loved this place, and always wished he could come back here some day...I don't know what he's on about sir. I've certainly never been here, and I've never gone anywhere without Artoo, for as long as I can remember."

Artoo beeped and the others turned to Threepio for another translation.

"He says that he was going to come back here with Master Anakin and Mistress Padme after the Clone Wars were over...but that never happened."

"Why not?" Luke asked excitedly. Hearing his mother and father had spurred him on and increased the urge to find out what happened to them so many years ago.

"Because he says that...oh my! That can't be..."

"What?" Luke cried. He felt like he was about to burst with excitement.

"He says that she was murdered...well not murdered, but killed by your father...I wouldn't take any notice Master Luke. I never belonged to anyone called Miss Padme or Master Anakin, so I don't know where Artoo got those dellusions from."

Luke felt like someone had just stuck a pin in his side, making him rapidly deflate...his father had killed his mother? Why? How? Now he had to find out as soon as he could.

The little group carried on down the street, with the two droids arguing bitterly about what Artoo had said.

"Enough!" Han cried at last, and both droids shut up immediately. Han sighed, enjoying the silence, which was no doubt going to be short lived.

Luke rounded a corner and saw a beautiful lake that stretched for miles. Tiny boats sailed up and down the lake, ferrying passengers and cargo from one place to another. Luke noticed that all of them had to sail around a structure in the middle of the lake that had a long bridge attaching it to the mainland. It wasn't exactly huge, but it was still pretty impressive.

It was made of stone and covered in ivy just like every other building, but something told Luke that this structure was special.

It was round, with no walls, just pillars and a dommed roof. Flaming torches sat in hooks on each of the pillars and in the very centre of the structure was a large stone box.

Reaching out with the force, he sensed a slight trace of someone...familiar...like a cross between Leia and their father. He knew he had found it.

"Come on!" he cried, the excitement building again. He ran across the bridge like a little boy, his excitement growing and growing. Leia, however, was becoming more and more upset and aggitated. At last she stopped in the middle of the bridge and refused to go any further.

"I'm sorry Luke. You go on," she sobbed, and Han wrapped his strong arm around her protectively. He led her back towards the main land, soothing her and trying his best to comfort her. Luke felt guilty that he was causing her so much distress, but she hadn't had to agree to accompany him. He could have come on his own.

Luke came to the end of the bridge and climbed the few steps up to what he was now certain was his mothers tomb. He saw that it had been well cared for, and it was easy to read the gold inscription engraved into the marble.

_Padme Naberrie Amidala Skywalker_

_Queen and Senator of Naboo_

_The most popular ruler this planet has ever seen._

_She will be sorely missed by us all._

"So this is where she was laid to rest," Luke muttered to himself, running a hand over the cold stone and feeling, once again, that faint trace of his mother.

He looked around and admired the view. From every angle, there was something beautiful to look at, and this was certainly the perfect place to bury a Queen.

"I wish I'd known you," he said to the tomb with a heavy sigh.

"Known who?" a voice answered and Luke spun round so fast that he made himself dizzy and had to grab the tomb to keep himself upright. He had been so busy feeling his mother through the force, that he hadn't felt this person approaching.

_Obi-Wan would be very grumpy if he'd found out! _Luke thought to himself with a slight smile.

"Forgive me for startling you...I meant you no harm," the woman appologised as she climbed the last few steps. She was in her fifties, yet she still moved like she was a teenager. She was surprisingly agile for her age.

Luke looked directly into her eyes and saw that they were a familiar deep brown. So familiar, yet he couldn't place where he'd seen them before.

"It's alright. I just didn't expect anyone else to come up here, thats all." He sighed.

"I come up here all the time," the woman sighed, leaning against the tomb to give herself a little rest. "You're a Jedi aren't you. I thought the Jedi were extinct?" the woman said, surprised. But she wasn't nearly as surprised as Luke.

"How...How do you...How?" he stuttered

"How do I know you're a Jedi?" she smiled, then pointed to his belt. His lightsaber was clearly visible, hanging from his belt, under his travelling cloak.

"Oh," Luke laughed, feeling ambarrased. "Yes I am. Like my father before me."

"Yes, you look like him," she replied, studying Luke's face. "You have the same vivid blue eyes."

"You knew my father?"

"And your mother. They were good people. What happened between them was truly awful. I don't think I've ever gotten over it, myself."

"What happened?" Luke asked the question that he was dying to know the answer to.

"I...I'd rather not say here. Why don't you come back to my place with your friends. You can stay the night, and I can tell you everything in the morning, when I've had a chance to think about how best to word it. It's a very hard tale to tell without thinking for a long time first."

Luke thought this was a fair deal, so he followed the woman back down and across the bridge. Halfway across it struck him that he didn't even know this woman and was trusting a stranger.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" he asked, hoping he didn't sound too rude.

"Oh silly me!" the woman laughed. "I forgot to tell you who I was...I'm getting rather forgetful these days. I'm Sola Ramone."

"I'm Luke Skywalker, and that is my sister Leia, and her husband Han Solo..." Luke pointed out the two who were waiting for them at the end of the bridge.

"That's Chewbacca. And that's C-3PO, the protocol droid...oh, and that little astro-droid is R2-D2..." he motioned toward the Wookie and two droids who had joined Leia and Han. A huge grin split across Sola's face as Artoo cried out merrily to her.

"Hello Artoo! Hope you've been behaving yourself!" she called playfully and Artoo beeped a cheeky reply which caused her to chuckle.

"You know Artoo?" Han asked curiously.

"Of course I do. Padme used to bring him round whenever she had a spare moment. My children loved to play with him. Mind you, they were only four and six at the time. Now they're young ladies, and I can't get over how quickly time has gone by."

Luke explained to the others about Sola's kind offer, and as he was doing so, Sola couldn't help but notice that Leia was continually staring at her...as though she didn't trust her, it seemed.

Indeed Leia didn't trust this woman...or was it just that she felt that she knew this woman?

_How can someone be familiar to me, and yet I've never met them in my life? _she told herself. _I know that I know her, but I can't think where..._

"Hey, you commin or what?" Han called, breaking her thoughts. He was a little way off down the street. The others had all left and he was waiting behind for her. She shook all thoughts from her mind and hurried to catch up with the group, although the uneasy feeling never left her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author Note: Hey guys! Thanks so much for the great reviews again! I love the fact that my unintentional references between father and son are so effective. Well, this story is about Luke and Leia finding out the truth, from their mother's eyes, about what happened on Mustafar. Enjoy!**

_Even from space, Mustafar glowed like a hot ember. As her ship neared the surface, Padme saw rivers of lava and oceans of molten rock. Fissures leaked fire from the heart of the planet, and smoke rose from cracks and vents on the blackened surface. It was hard to control the skiff in the shifting air currents, but eventually Padme and C-3PO fought it to a safe landing._

_Through the cockpit window, she saw Anakin running eagery toward the landing platform. Hastily, she unstrapped and ran out to meet him..._

"Luke, are you in there?" Leia's voice broke Luke's concentration and the vision dissolved. He sighed and put the belt back in the suitcase as Leia opened the door and peered in.

"I found some of Mum's clothes," he told her, showing her the suitcase he had found under his bed. He held up the belt he had just been holding.

"What were you doing? I could feel that you were using the force."

"I was trying to find out what Mum was doing when she was wearing these clothes...look, you try with me..." Luke held out the belt and Leia, who reluctantly took the other end of the belt in her hand.

"Now close your eyes and concentrate," he instructed her, so Leia took a deep breath and closed her eyes, concentrating as much as she dared. After all, she wasn't sure that she wanted to know what her mother had been doing when wearing this belt.

Everything went dark in Leia's mind, and then she was back on Mustafar with Luke.

_His embrace reassured Padme, his arms made her feel secure once more._

_"I saw your ship! Its alright," he murmered. "You're safe now."_

_She looked up gratefully, and he said, "What are you doing out here?"_

_All the things she had been pushing out of her mind since leaving Coruscant came flooding back, and she looked down._

_"Obi-Wan told me terrible things."_

_She felt Anakin stiffen._

_"What things?"_

_"He said you have turned to the dark side," Padme blurted out. "That you killed younglings."_

_Her voice sounded accusing, even to her own ears. This wasn't the way she had meant to ask him for the truth._

_"Obi-Wan is trying to turn you against me," Anakin said, and she heard the stirring of a terrible anger in his voice._

_"He cares about us," Padme told him._

_"Us?"_

_"He knows...He wants to help you. Anakin, all I want is your love."_

_"Love won't save you Padme. Only my new powers can."_

_"At what cost? You're a good person, don't do this!"_

_"I won't lose you the way I lost my mother! i've become more powerful than any Jedi has ever dreamed of...and I've done it for you. To protect you."_

_"Come with me," Padme put a hand on her swelling stomach. "Help me raise our child. Leave everything else behind while we still can," she begged._

_"Don't you see," Anakin leaned forward eagerly. "We don't have to run away anymore. I have brought peaceto the Republic. I am more powerful than the Chancellor. I can overthrow him, and together you and I can rule the galaxy. Make things the way we want them to be."_

_Padme recoiled in horror._

_"I don't believe what I'm hearing! Obi-Wan was right. You've changed._

_"I don't want to hear any more about Obi-Wan!" Anakin's temper finally burst loose. Padme's fear must have shown on her face, because he made a visible effort to control himself._

_"The Jedi turned against me, don't you turn against me!"_

_"I don't know you anymore," she told him. Couldn't he feel her heart breaking? Well she would make it clear. "Anakin, you're breaking my heart. You're going down a path I can't follow."_

_"Because of Obi-Wan?" Anakin growled, the anger rising again._

_"Because of what you've done...what you plan to do! Stop! Stop now! Come back! I love you!"_

_For the barest moment - for the barest instant - she thought she would succeed in bringing back the Anakin that was her husband, her lover, the father of their child._

_Then Anakin's expression changed. "Liar!" he cried._

_He was staring at something behind her. Padme turned, and saw Obi-Wan standing in the door of the skiff. She knew that she'd been tricked by the Jedi Master. How could he!_

_"No!" she cried, knowing this new Anakin would never listen to her now._

_"You're with him! You brought him here to kill me!"_

_"No! Anakin I swear..." Padme protested, but rage had made Anakin's face unrecognizable. He lifted his hand and curled his fingers into a fist._

_Padme felt herself choking, unable to breathe. She grabbed at her throat and tried desperately to pry open the invisible fingers that were closed around her neck. She called out Anakin's name, trying to get him to listen._

_"Let her go, Anakin!" Obi-Wan called from the top of the ramp. "Let her go!"_

_Anakin released his choke hold and Padme fell to the floor unconscious._

Leia felt like she was the one that had been strangled. She sat down on the bed, gasping and struggling for breath. When she looked up, she came face to face with the monster who had killed her mother...no, it was only Luke.

It was only now that she had seen the image of her father out of his suite, that she realised how like him, Luke was...and she supposed, from the look on Luke's face, that he was thinking the same about her and Padme.

The twins gazed at each other for ages, snatches of the conversations they had heard between their parents floating through their heads.

And then they both grabbed the next item of clothing from the suitcase, desperate to find out the answers to more of their millions of questions.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author Note: Ok guys, sorry it took so long to write, but here's your next chapter, and thanks so much for all the sweet reviews, you guys are the best! Keep em coming! **

As it happened, the next item was a pale blue headband, with engravings on it that looked fit for a senator, yet at the same time, just...normal looking. It was what Leia would call a family outfit, as she glanced at the blue skirt and top that went with it.

Both her and Luke closed their eyes again, and fell into the darkness.

_Around a dinning table sat three people. A much younger Padme, a much younger Anakin, and a man who could only be Padme's father._

_He was a strong shouldered man with a face that was plain and strong and passionate all at once. He wore his brown hair short, but still it was a bit out of place, a bit...comfotable._

_Anakin, however, was quite the opposite. His clothes were tight and crisp, and his muscles under them seemed taught with readiness. His sandy blonde hair was cropped short now, except for the thin braid indicative of his status as a Jedi Padawan. His blue eyes, so different from the evil yellow ones on Mustafar, flashed repeatedly, as if bursts of energy were escaping._

_Padme was young, beautiful, but troubled. Something had happened recently that had caused her pain and suffering...not physically, but emotionally. However, she was still as beautiful as ever, her chocolate brown curls flowing freely down her back, and the blue headband sitting neatly ontop of her head. Despite whatever had happened, for the moment she seemed happy and content. Her deep brown eyes, so different to Anakin's, also flashed, but with determination and courage._

_The three of them were sitting at the diner table, comfortably quiet and listening to the bustle in the next room, which included the clanking of stoneware plates and mugs, and someone repeatedly saying "Too much, Mum."_

_Everytime she said that, Padme and her father Ruwee would smile knowingly. _

_"I doubt they've been starving all the way from Coruscant," an exasperated, and much younger Sola said as she exited the kitchen, glancing back over her shoulder as she spoke. She returned carrying a bowl full of food._

_"Enough to feed the town?" Padme asked Sola quietly as her older sister put the bowl on the table._

_"You know Mum," came the answer, and the tone told them that this wasn't an isolated incident, and that Jobal was quite the hostess._

_Despite the fact that Padme had eaten recently, the bowl of food looked and smelled temptingly good, as always._

_"No-one has ever left this house hungry," Sola explained to Anakin._

_"Well one person did once," Padme corrected. "But Mum chased him down and dragged him back in."_

_"To feed him or eat him?" the quick-witted Padawan retorted, and the other three stared at him for a moment before catching on and bursting out in laughter._

_They were still chuckling when Jobal entered the room, holding an even larger bowl of steaming food, which of course only made them laugh all the harder. But then Jobal fixed an imposing glare over her family and the chuckling quieted._

_"They arrived just in time for dinner," Jobal said. "I know what that means." She sat the plate down near Anakin and put her hand on his shoulder. "I hope you're hungry, Anakin."_

_"A little," he said and looked up, giving her a warm smile. The look of gratitude wasn't lost on Padme's face. she tossed a little wink his way when he looked back at her. _

_"He's being polite Mum," she said. "We're starving."_

_Jobal grinned widely and nodded, offering superior glances at Sola and Ruwee, who just laughed again. It was all so comfortable, so natural._

_"If you're starving, then you came to the right place at the right time," Ruwee said, looking at Anakin as he finished. "Eat up son!" _

_Jobal and Sola took their seats and began passing the food around. Anakin took a good helping of several different dishes. The food was unfamiliar, but the smells told him that he wouldn't be dissapointed. He sat quietly as he ate, only listening to the conversation with half an ear, whilst sneaking glances at Padme as he ate. Padme was also sneaking glances at him, but in more of a suspicious way, like she thought he was up to something. _

_Some time passed before Anakin was drawn back into the converstaion. He was cued by the sudden seriousness in Jobal's voice as she said to Padme, "Honey, it's so good to see you safe. We were so worried."_

_Anakin looked up just in time to see the intense, dissaproviing glare that Padme answered with. Ruwee, obviously trying to dispel the tension before it could really begin, put his hand on Jobal's arm and quietly said "Dear-"_

_"I know, I know!" said the suddenly animated Jobal. "But I had to say it. Now it's done."_

_Sola cleared her throat. "Well this is exciting. Do you know, Anakin, your the first boyfriend my little sister's ever brought home."_

_"Sola!" Padme exclaimed, rolling her eyes at her older sister. "He's not my boyfriend. He's a Jedi assigned by the Senate to protect me - "_

Both of them fell back through the blackness and onto the bed they had been sitting on. Han was standing infront of them with an amused expression on his face, and as though he wasn't sure that they were really out of their trance like state, waved a hand infront of Leia. She slapped it hard in frustration and he withdrew quickly.

"Jeez woman, what's up with you? I come in here and find you in a kind of trance, then you wake up and slap me! Have I missed something here!"

"You idiot! Why did you have to ruin it!" Leia cried, standing up and getting ready to hit Han again. Han cowered away into a corner and looked to Luke for help, but the troubled Jedi was too deep in either shock or thought to notice.

_Why did Sola lie to us? Why didn't she tell us she's our aunt? And why was our father assigned to protect our mother?_

So many questions swum around in his head that part of him wished he'd never found the suitcase. Glancing back at another head dress that sat ontop, he decided that he'd had enough for now. He'd ask Sola some questions and return to this later.

"Come on Leia, lets go and ask Sola about our mother," he said at last, taking Leia's arm gently in his own. All of Leia's anger towards Han was quickly replaced with a new anger towards their aunt.

"Yeah, let's go!" she snapped, storming out of the room, with Luke close behind. Han was left standing in the corner, scratching his head and wondering just what kind of maddness he'd married into.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author Note: I'm sorry if this chapter doesn't really make much sense guys, but I had writers block and was just desperate to post something before you all got bored and forgot about it...which would probably never happen with you guys, i'm sure. But it has happened on one of my other stories...oh well...hope you enjoy my little surprise! lol!**

Sola was in the kitchen with Chewbacca and C-3PO making dinner later that evening when Leia stormed in and demanded "Why did you lie to us? Why didn't you tell us that you knew - No, that you were RELATED to our mother? Did you think we were stupid? Did you think we wouldn't figure it out!"

There was the sound of a bowl falling to the floor, a loud smash, and then several awkward moments of silence before at last Chewie gave a soft moan about his fur being covered in mushed fruit.

"Oh shut up, fur ball!" Leia snapped, and someone let out achuckle from behind her. Leia spun on the spot to see Luke and Han standing in the doorway, Han grinning like mad. When he saw the look that Leia was giving him, however, he diverted into another room and Chewie followed, moaning about how women could be so touchy at times.

"I'm sorry," Sola said at last. It was all she could think of to say.

"Sorry? Sorry isn't good enough! how long were you going to keep that from us? Huh?"

"Leia, give her a chance to explain. I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason," Luke said quietly as he stepped beside his sister.

"Well, there'd better be!" Leia snapped, but she did allow Luke to gently guide her to a nearby chair, where she slumped down and folded her arms, glaring at Sola and making her aunt feel increasingly uncomfortable.

Luke kicked Leia's ankle, breaking the eye contact, and she at last stopped staring.

"Like I said before...I'm truly sorry that I had to lie to you...but it was what I had been ordered to do...for your own safety as much as your mother's."

"Is this to do with the fact that our father was our mother's bodyguard?"

"How do you know about that?" Sola asked in amazement. She hadn't thought anyone else knew...well except for the chosen few that Padme herself had told.

Luke explained how he and Leia had been using the clothing to find out little bits of information about their parents.

"So what else do you know?" Sola asked after a moment of careful consideration.

"Only that our mother was killed by Darth Vader...our father..." Leia said at last, and all the anger and frustration from earlier had melted away, leaving a sadness in it's place. It seemed to Luke that Leia was struggling to come to terms with what she was discovering, and she was covering it up with anger, which she always did.

"Well, that's not strictly true...Anakin, the man my sister had loved, had been consumed by Vader. It was Vader that killed her, not Anakin...and..."

"And there's no truth in that statement at all, is there?" Luke guessed, reading the awkward expression on Sola's face, that had once again been replaced by shock.

At last, however, she shook her head again.

"No. Vader didn't kill your mother either..."

"Then who did?" Leia asked in confusion.

"No-one..."

"She died of natural causes?"

"No."

"Then what?"

"Leia, don't you understand what she's trying to say?" Luke asked in surprise. He'd completely forgotten that Leia wasn't as intune with the force as he was, and probably couldn't feel Sola's feelings as well as he could.

"No, I don't. Why are you both talkingsuch nonsense?"

"Leia...our mother is still alive," Luke said. He couldn't put it any clearer than that, and it seemed that he wouldn't need to either.

"Is...is she?" Leia asked in a shaky voice, and Sola nodded her head. There was a loud thump and Luke dropped to his knees beside his unconscious sister.

He knew she'd probably faint. There was so much for her to take in that it would have been impossible no to. He was using the force to channel his emotions and keep him calm, but she wasn't nearly as experienced as him.

"I'll get a cold cloth," Sola suggested and Luke nodded. A moment later, there was a loud shout and Han dragged Luke to the side, cradling his darling wife in his arms. Luke just stepped back and let everyone else get on with it.

He went out onto the balcony and looked out over the beautiful lake. Suddenly everything seemed to be going right for him again. He'd found his aunt, and was soon to find his mother...all he wished was that his father could be here to share the moment with him.

"Oh Dad," Luke sighed, flexing his mechanical arms as he muttered it. The sun was setting on the horizon and a slight breeze was blowing past his ear. If Luke listened hard enough, he fancied that he could hear his father's voice in it.

_Luke, I'm so proud of you...you have become a great Jedi...train your sister as well as you were trained by Obi-Wan..._

And then Luke really heard his father's voice. Spinning on the spot he came face to face with the spirit of his father, who looked just the same as in the vision Luke had seen of him on Mustafar, except that now he had brilliant blue eyes again, not the evil Sith yellow.

"Luke, what Sola speaks is the truth. You're mother is still alive, but was well hidden so that I would never find her. She made a vow to keep Padme's location a secret until the very last threat from either myself or the Emperor was eliminated..."

"Do you know where she is now?" Luke asked, leaning on the balcony. He should have found it weird that he was talking to a dead man, but he was used to it by now.

"Yes. A small moisture farm on Tatooine, very close to where you grew up. She no longer goes by the name of Padme Amidala, but that is all I know. The rest is up to you, my son."

"I'll find her Dad...I'll find her and bring her home, I promise!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Author Note: AAAARGH! I'm late with posting! I'm so sorry guys! I was going to post the next chapter that comes after this, then realised that I hadn't actually posted this one yet! (smacks forehead) Oh, I hope I get my act together soon! WEll, here's an extra long one for you. I hope it kind of makes up for you having to wait for so long! Sorry!**

"Artoo, set the landing sequence, I think we're here," Luke said to the little astrodroid as his brand new x-wing skimmed the desert terrain that was so familiar to him. The engines created a huge dust storm and it was becoming harder and harder to see, but Luke had inherited his fathers natural flying talents, and so it wasn't too difficult.

At last they came to the space port and Luke went in to land. A protest from Artoo flashed on the dashboard and Luke smiled.

"We don't need co-ordinates...usually. Just find a space, park in it, then hope no one steals your ship whilst you go about your business."

Artoo gave a low whistle which translated as _'As lovely as I remember it' _causing Luke to laugh.

As they landed and Luke hoped out of the cockpit, a fat, pig like dock officer bounded over furiously.

"Hey, you can't park there! You need an invitation first!"

"Its a good job I have one then," Luke said with a slight wave of his hand, flashing a blank bit of paper infront of the officer.

"Its a good job you had one then," the guard replied in satisfaction. Luke tossed him a few coins and told him to look after the ship, which he promised to do, and then Luke and Artoo went on their way, Artoo commenting about Luke being 'As bad as his father'.

They had come to Mos Eisley to purchase a few things before going on to find Padme, and hopefully, they could find out more about her beforehand.

As they wandered down the street, Luke took in the sights that had become all too familiar to him during his time growing up on this planet. He had told himself a hundred times that he would never return to this place, and yet here he was now, walking down the same street he had walked down at least a thousand times before.

He passed a cantina and couldn't resist going inside to have a quick drink for old time's sake. He told Artoo to wait outside, remembering the trouble they had almost had last time, and went over to the bar.

He went over to the bar and signaled to the bartender, then watched as a glass was placed in front of him and amber liquid was poured in.

He tossed it back and motioned for the bar tender to fill it up again. As he drank that too, he felt someone approach from behind. He turned to see a female pilot approach, still wearing her full face helmet.

She ignored him and handed a bag of coins to the bar tender, who exchanged it for a bag of other items. She said nothing, but nodded her thanks and turned to leave, glancing at Luke as she did so. He felt a warm tingle run up his spine and blushed, quickly turning away to hide his glowing cheeks.

After his third drink, he decided he'd probably had enough and left, realising he had more important things to do, like find his mother.

As he stepped out into the blazing heat of the twin suns, he felt surprisingly happy. He wasn't sure if it was the three drinks that were finally taking effect, or the fact that he knew he was about to meet his mother again. But something was making him happier than he'd felt in a long time.

Suddenly, his attention was diverted to a large procession marching down the street. Dodging to the front of the crowd, Luke watched a string of Jawas lead a large bantha. On the bantha was a strong shouldered, largely built man. He carried a long whip curled in one hand and was waving with the other, like he was some kind of royalty. He held his head high, with his nose arrogantly stuck up at everyone down below him.

There was a shout from the crowd and a small boy ran out to pet the bantha. However, the stupid creature was spooked and reared up, dragging the jawas off their feet and almost unseating its rider.

A little girl ran out to grab her brother as the bantha returned to all fours.

"Yo baan fee hota!" the rider cried angrily, uncurling his whip, before lashing it down aggressively at the children.

Before it reached them, the female pilot had dodged in-between him and the children, holding out her arm so that the whip wrapped round it, bitiing into her flesh. Then she jerked it out of the rider's hands.

"Ding me chasa no bata boska, chuba di shango demala!" she replied and the crowd gasped at what she had just said. (If I were as rich as you, at least I could afford some manners!)

"No chuba da wanna wanga!" (get out of my way, you fool!) the rider growled as the Jawas started to lead his mount forward again.

The pilot stepped aside, making sure that the children remained safely behind her, and the procession continued. She didn't let the children run to their mother until she was safe that the danger had passed.

Everyone went back to what they had been doing before, with the mother calling out a greatful thankyou. Luke waited until the crowd had dispersed a little before he went up to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked, although he wasn't sure if she spoke his language.

"I'm fine, thankyou," she replied, and Luke glanced through the visor of her helmet, catching a glimpse of a pair of vibrant green eyes.

"Here, let me look," he said, gently taking her arm, which was dribbling blood into her tan coloured sleeve. He carefully rolled back the sleeve and examined the cuts. They weren't too deep, but they still looked painful.

"That was a very brave thing you did out there. You beat me to it."

"What would you have done?" she asked curiously, flinching as she used a strip of his own black sleeve to dab at the wounds.

Luke thought for a moment, then replied "I would have used aggressive negotiations."

He had no idea why he had said that. He didn't even know what it meant, although he had a feeling it had something to do with a certain lightsaber that was hanging hidden under his traveling cloak.

"What makes you say that?" the pilot asked curiously as she admired his makeshift bandage.

"I don't know, to be honest," Luke admitted.

"Well, thanks for your help. I should get these seen to properly before they get infected," she said, turning to go. But Luke was struck with a sudden and uncontrolable urge. Reaching up, he pulled off her helmet gently and dropped it on the floor, dumbstruck.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author Note: Ok guys, you've probably just seen who the pilot is by now, so this is gonna be short and sweet! Thanks so much for all the great reviews! You guys are brill! And as for the huttesse in the last chapter, I'm sorry it was all wrong, but I couldn't find any sites that would translate huttesse, so I had to pick random words out of the books and put them together! Anyways...here's the pilot!**

"Mara!" Luke exclaimed as he stared in disbelief.

"Hello Skywalker," she replied with a grin. "Long time, no see."

"What are you doing here?" Luke demanded, anger bubbling up inside him. "Someone else put a price on my head?"

"No Luke, trust me. I'm not like that anymore. Since the Emperor's death, I've changed. I've been living on the fringe of society and I've been forced to become a smuggler pilot. Do you really think I'd go around wearing this tatty thing if not?" She tugged at the tatty brown pilot's uniform in disgust.

"Why should I believe you?" Luke snarled, one hand curling round the handle of his saber.

"Because I've been asked to do something that you would be very interested in," Mara said, leaning casually against a nearby gas pipe.

"What. Hunt another friend of mine? Or perhaps you're after my sister this time?"

"No Luke. I'm not hunting anyone...well not for money anyway. My head hunting days are over. They ended the day you killed my Master."

"I - You what!" Luke was taken aback by this statement.

"You killed the Emperor! I felt his death through the force. And the Force showed me images of his final moments. You were there...and so was your father...you both murdered my Master, my Mentor!"

Suddenly, Mara was close to tears, all her confidence gone. Luke felt a twinge of guilt. She had been as close to the Emperor as he had been to Obi-Wan. Both had lost their mentors to the hands of his father.

Luke felt a sudden surge of anger, not towards Mara, but towards his father. How could such a hate-filled man ever have married someone as fair and as beautiful as his mother...his mother! He had forgotten completely about why he had really returned to this wretched dust-bowl.

But how could he leave Mara now?

Yes, she was his enemy, and had been assigned by the Emperor to kill him. Yes, she was a skilled warrior, trained from childhood and honed into a weapon, but deep down inside her, he could feel the goodness, just as he had felt the goodness in his father before his death.

"Mara, I'm sorry. I truly am. But I don't have the time to explain everything to you now. I didn't kill the Emperor, and someday I swear that I will tell you everything, but now I have an important errand to run which concerns a very close family member."

"Your mother?" she asked, and her face softened considerably as he nodded. Luke found this curious and a little suspicious. How did she know about his mother?

"Luke, there's something I have to tell you...something that you won't like."

"What is it?" he asked, expecting her to tell him something about one of her smuggler friends wanting more money from Han.

"Its your mother. She's gone missing and I've been assigned to find her."

"To kill her?" Luke blurted out. Of all the things he could have asked, he had to ask that!

"No, to rescue her."

"Rescue her? From what? Who? Mara, what's going on? Please tell me?"

"She's being held by a group called the Yuuzhan Vong. No-one knows who they are, what they want, or where their hideout is."

"Then I'm coming with you. She's my mother, and it sounds like you'll need all the help you can get."

"No, I can handle this myself."

"She's my mother! She needs me!"

"Luke, she's spent twenty odd years of her life not even knowing that you exist. What makes you so sure that she needs you now?"

This reality stung Luke worse than any lightsaber cut, and he staggered back against the pipe, causing it to vibrate. Mara watched him for a moment, then made up her mind. They may be enemies, but Mara could see how much Luke cared for this woman that he didn't even know. She was prepared to put their differences aside for the time being if it meant that she could complete her mission even quicker. After all, despite what she'd told Luke about the pay, she was actually being payed, and the quicker she found this woman, the higher her reward would be. Putting on a sympathetic face she held out her hand.

"Come with me. You're right. She's your mother, and you may be able to find her quicker than anyone else can. After all, you are a Jedi."

Luke took her hand after a slight pause and she pulled him back to his feet, kicked her helmet into the air, caught it, jammed it back on her head and led him back to the hangers where their ships sat. Luke couldn't believe how much his fortunes had changed since setting out on this journey, although whether they had changed for the better or the worse, he couldn't decide.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author Note: Ok guys, here's the next chapter, and I hope it answers the 'Where's Leia?' question that I know some of you have been asking. Well I just want to warn you that I may be delayed in posting for a while, what with x-mas and everything, I am still way behind on all my wrapping, card writing etc...so I will post, just not as regularly as I should. Sorry!**

**But on with the story, and I'm afraid it's another cliffhanger! (cue evil music) HAHAHAHAHAHA!**

Leia threw the floral yellow dress back into the suitcase after failing to see anything for the fifth time now. She couldn't do anything without Luke, and it was really starting to annoy her.

Luke and her father were two of the greatests Jedi the Galaxy had ever seen. Their blood flowed in her veins, and yet she couldn't do half the things they could do. Infact the only thing she could do was use the force to lift and move small objects. It seemed that she had become too reliant on Luke doing everything for her...although why he couldn't just let her be normal was another thing that annoyed her. He insisted on her becoming a Jedi, but she was perfectly content to just use a blaster.

Sighing, she threw herself onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. Streaks of light from the evening sun lined the ceiling and danced about the drawn curtains, which fluttered in the slight breeze from the open window.

There was no real reason for the curtains being shut, other than the fact that Leia had thought it might help her to concentrate more on the clothes and less on the distraction of the breathtaking scenery.

As she lay on her back now, she lazily used the force to open the curtains (well the force had it's advantages to!) and propped herself up on her elbows to watch as the sun set even lower on the horizon.

How many times had her mother watched that sunset? And how many times had she watched it rise again in the morning? Would she ever see it again?

Leia hoped so. She'd only visited Tatooine for a short period of time, but she knew which planet she'd rather live on, and she guessed that her mother must feel the same, having lived most of her life on this beautiful planet. As Sola had told her earlier that day, Padme never really had a place of her own. She had moved around so much that there hadn't been any point. Yes, she had her Coruscant appartment, but that was just a place to stay, not a place to live permanently.

Padme had still lived with her parents and Sola, and Sola's daughters Ryoo and Pooja, who were, at this moment, entertaining Han and Chewbacca out in the garden. They had come home late the previous evening and hadn't failed to impress Leia with their impeccable manners and politeness.

Thats why Leia was alone up here now. They had driven her insane, although it didn't take alot to do that now a days, and she just needed to escape. The suitcase seemed the perfect excuse, but now it wasn't working, Leia was considering giving up all together and just going to bed. She didn't want to be unsociable, but she just didn't feel in the mood for '_Allow me', 'Could you possibly excuse me please?' _and _'Would you like another sweet at all?'_

Looking around the room, Leia saw that it wasn't really empty, but was full of furniture, covered in white sheets. Lifting one sheet with the force, Leia uncovered a chest of drawers, still with several object scattered across it. She called a hairbrush to her and examined the long fine strands of chocolate brown hair that were still entwined in the bristles. She ran a finger through the hair and immediately saw visions of someone sitting at the chest of drawers with their back to her. They ran the brush through their long flowing, slightly curled hair, and hummed gently. Leia leaned to one side slightly, not sure if it would make the slightest bit of difference, and there in the reflection from the mirror, she saw her mother. She had a dreamy expression on her face, and it was like she wasn't completely aware of what she was doing, so involved was she, in a thought or memory of her own. At last, she set the brush back down on the table and sighed as there was a knock at the door.

Leia jumped when she realised that there really had been a knock at the door. A moment later Sola appeared, carrying a tray of food.

"I thought I might find you in here," she smiled, setting the tray down on the chest of drawers and sitting beside Leia.

"I...I just needed some time to myself. I wanted to see if I could find out anything else about my mother..."

"No luck?" Sola guessed, giving Leia a sympathetic smile. "There's still alot of things about my sister that I don't know...and probably never will either."

"Was this her room?" Leia said, motioning to the covered bits of furniture. Sola nodded.

"Yes, this was hers. She wanted the bigger room, but being the youngest, had to settle for the smaller. However, that didn't stop her from arguing with me for hours over why she should get the room instead of me."

Leia laughed at the thought, and remembered some of her quarrels with Luke.

"Siblings argue over the stupidest things," she agreed.

"Yes, but one thing we never argued about was who had the better wardrobe. I mean, look at this stuff! It certainly is fit for a queen. I never got anything as grand as this."

"Why not?" Leia asked curiously, as she and Sola rummaged through the suitcase together. Leia pulled out a long black dress, that was made of some sort of netting material with diamonds embeded into the velvet underlay. It was a beautiful dress, and Leia couldn't help but hold it up infront of her. Sola nodded approvingly.

"It suits you," she said, watching as Leia held it up to herself and twirled around infront of the mirror so that the bottom flicked out.

"Can I try it on?" Leia asked hopefully, and Sola nodded, delving into the suitcase again to find the matching accessories.

In no time at all, Leia was wearing the very evening gown that Padme had been wearing when Anakin had first confessed his love to her. She was even wearing the gloves, the headband and the choker too.

"You look beautiful," Sola sighed, watching her niece twirl around the room, thrilled that she was able to actually wear something that her mother had once worn.

Leia knew this was a feeling that Luke would never experience. After all, the only thing left of their father's former Jedi days was his lightsaber, which Luke had lost, along with his hand, on Bespin.

"I hope Luke brings her home soon," Sola sighed, flopping back onto the bed, as Leia had done earlier. "She would be so proud of you now...just like I am."

Leia felt touched by this statement and flopped next to her aunt. The two talking more about Padme, and guys, and just general girlish things for a long time. Both had really started to bond with each other at last, and this should have been a gift ...but it would soon prove to be a curse - a curse that could destroy their family forever.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author Note: Hey guys, sorry this is such a short chapter, but I finally found time to write another, and the ending just seemed like a natural place to end it...thanks so much for all your great reviews. Its such a wonderful feeling to know that someone out there admires...or at least likes your work. Thankyou all so much...I would say that we're coming to the end of this story, but that would be a lie, because it's only just beginnning! HA! So on with the story!**

"So where do you reckon we start?" Mara asked Luke as they arrived back at their ships. Artoo obediently went and attached himself into the x-wing, leaving Luke to deal with Mara.

"Well, I think I should go to my Mum's home and see if I can pick up any clues from there. You go to the last place the Vong were sighted. But first, I'm going to tell Leia what's happened. With her help, we might be able to find Mum even quicker."

Mara shook her head and Luke crossed his arms and glared at her. "What?" he asked, trying not to sound annoyed.

"Don't tell your sister just yet. She'll worry and will only get in the way. Lets just go to your mother's home and see if we can dig up anything...together."

"Why together?" Luke asked suspiciously. He was perfectly capable of doing things by himself.

"Are you going to question everything I say?" Mara asked, now sounding annoyed herself.

"Are you going to disagree with everything I say?" he countered and the two glared at each other for a moment, although it was harder for Luke, because the sun was reflecting off Mara's visor, and right into his eyes.

There was a string of beeps from Artoo and the two turned away from each other. Luke glanced back at Mara one more time as she boarded her ship and called "You go your way, I'll go mine!"

"Finally, something we agree on!" she snapped and then the ramp retracted and her engine started up.

Luke hopped lightly into his own ship and Artoo started the engines whilst Luke programmed in the co-ordinates for his mother's home, based on what Sola had told him. He was going to use hyperspeed to get there even quicker, so that he could at least have a good chance to rummage around on his own before Mara got there. He knew it was dangerous to use hyperspeed in a planet's atmosphere, but right now, he was so angry he didn't care. As he punched another button, Yoda's words came back to haunt him.

_"Fear is the path to the dark side...fear leads to anger...anger leads to hate...hate leads to suffering..."_

Luke knew this, and knew that he had to calm down, but Mara had a way of just getting him so wound up it was unbelievable...worse than any argument he had ever had with Leia or Han. Taking several deep breaths, he calmed himself down and as the ship took off, he switched on his radio transmitter and began to send a message to Leia.

oOo

Han went up to his and Leia's room later that evening after being entertained by Ryoo and Pooja. He had really enjoyed their long stories about his new family, and felt that he now knew them a little more. But one thing that had stopped him from really enjoying the evening was the fact that Leia was missing. She'd dissapeared after Pooja's tale about their fishing trip when they were younger, and he had been worried about her ever since, although he couldn't go and look for her, because that would have been rude. He liked his new cousins, and didn't want to upset them...well not yet anyway.

But now Sola had come back down and told everyone that it was getting late, so they had all agreed to call it a night.

As Han opened the bedroom door, he saw Leia sitting in a chair in the corner, fast asleep, with the hairbrush dangling loosely in her fingers, and several other little items scattered around her. She had changed out of the dress, which was now hanging on the wardrobe door. The suitcase that lay on the bed earlier, was now empty and thrown in a corner, and all the clothes and bits and bobs from inside it had been replaced in their rightful places, except for the few bits around Leia.

The sheets had been taken away and the furniture had been dusted down so that now, it actually looked like a bedroom again, and less like a store-room. This must have been what had kept Leia up here all evening.

Smiling, he bent down and scooped her up in his arms, kissing her forehead before carrying her over to the bed and tucking her gently under the covers. Then he pulled off his shirt and boots and slid in beside her, wrapping one arm over her shoulder protectively and drifting off into a light sleep, where he dreamed about Ryoo and Pooja fishing on the lake. That had been his favourite story of them all, because it was just so funny.

Ryoo had caught a huge fish, and Pooja had tried to help her pull it in. However, the fish had other ideas and had pulled both of them into the water instead.

However, as Han dreamed, Ryoo and Pooja became him and Leia. The two were fishing together, but not on a lake, on a river of lava...and Leia had caught something. Han tried to call out to her to let it go, but she couldn't and got jerked over board. Han screamed and sat bolt upright in bed.

"What is it Han?" Leia asked in alarm, also sitting up beside him.

"Nothing, nothing," he muttered as he lay back down again, sweat running down his face and dripping off his bare chest.

Leia sighed and kissed him on the forehead this time, before rolling onto her side and drifting back off to sleep. Han was glad that she could get to sleep. Perhaps the rest would stop her from becoming so grouchy all the time. But he certainly wasn't going back to sleep in a hurry. He didn't want to be plagued of visions of his wife's death. The same thing had happened to his father-in-law, and look how he turned out.

_But you're not a Jedi. You can't turn evil, and you won't. _He told himself, but that still didn't convince him to sleep. He lay there all night looking at the ceiling and trying to make pictures out of the random patterns.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author Note: Ok guys, here's the next chapter for you. I hope you like it...I've actually got the next chapter and a half written after this one now, so I can keep up regular posting for a little longer at least!**

**O...K...on with the story!**

Leia's comm-talk was blinking the next morning, indicating that she had received a message.She rolled over and called it to her using the force, then rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed, careful not to wake Han, who had finally fallen asleep in the early hours of the morning.

Slipping out of bed and stretching, she pulled on one of her mother's dressing gowns and took her comm-talk out onto the balcony so that she didn't disturb Han.

The sun was rising slowly and casting a rosy glow over everything. Leia had never seen anything like it, so she took a moment to just watch, burning the memory into her mind to keep forever. Even on Alderaan, it had never been this beautiful.

She sighed and leant on the balcony, flicking the switch to listen to the message. Luke appeared in his pilot's uniform, and it was clear that he was forcing himself to keep calm. This worried Leia a bit, because Luke didn't get angry often. She was the angry one, he was the calm one.

"_Leia, you have to come to Tattooine as soon as you can. Mum's been kidnapped by a group called the Yuuzung Vong and I've had to team up with Mara Jade to rescue her. We have no idea where she is, or who these people are, and why they want her, so the more help we have, the better...and yes, before you say anything, Mara was the assassin assigned by the Emperor to kill me, but we've come to a kind of agreement, and it would be good for you to just go along with it for the moment. I'll explain properly later...but for now, can you and the others meet me at Mother's place as soon as possible? Bring Aunt Sola, Ryoo and Pooja too. They may be able to move all of Mum's stuff back to Naboo for us, because one thing's for sure. I'm not gonna let Mum stay on this wretched place for one second longer than she has to."_

The message switched off and Leia stood watching the sunrise for a moment, contemplating everything she had heard. She knew that she should have been alarmed at what Luke had said, but she wasn't. Probably because Luke sounded like he knew what he was doing, and had everything under control.

She breathed in the sweet scent of the lillies from the garden below and thought about how she would break the news to the others. In the end, she decided to tell them all together as soon as they were up so that she didn't end up repeating herself. In the meantime, she was going to gather everything they may need for the journey, including action suits and weapons. After all, any kidnapper was considered a danger, and Leia knew that they would take no chances when rescuing Padme.

And so she set about gathering bits and bobs and throwing them together. Then she found C-3PO locked in one of the store cupboards of the falcon and got him to help her load up the ship. Obviously Han had got so fed up that he had locked the droid in there and forgotten about him...which was easily done. Leia had to admit that she'd done that a couple of times too, but now was not the time to think about appologising to droids.

By the time they had finished, she was absolutely exhausted, but there was no time to rest. The others were just getting up and she needed to make sure that they all knew what was going on.

"Chewie, can you go and get Han please? Tell him its urgent," she asked the wookie, who gave a huge yawn, then nodded and went off to wake up his best friend. Leia gethered her Aunt and cousins into the living room and waited as a rather grouchy Han stomped down the steps, grumbling about never being allowed a lie in. Chewie followed him, and when he saw Leia, just shrugged, causing her to smile. Apparently, Han hated being woken up...by anyone!

Once he'd sat down however, and 3-PO had given him a mug of coffee, Leia played them Luke's message. She glanced around and saw Han pull a face as he swallowed the coffee too fast, which burned his throat. Now he was trying desperately hard not to choke and make a fuss, which Leia was grateful for. Han may be a grouch in the morning, but he knew when to keep quiet and not make a fuss.

She glanced next at Sola, who's mouth had fallen open, and her eyes were wide with shock. Leia felt sorry for her, and knew how she felt, because Luke had often been captured, or gone missing during missions, and the feeling had always made her feel sick with worry.

And finally she glanced at Chewie, who just gave her a sympathetic look, and wrapped his big furry arm round her. She was glad of his warm embrace, because it made her feel secure, and she knew that she wasn't alone.

When the message had finished, there was a long silence, and then Ryoo jumped to her feet.

"What are we waiting for?" she said, and everyone turned to look at her, so she continued. "Aunt Padme has risked her life many times for this planet...and for us. I think it's time we returned the favour!"

"I agree," Pooja said, going to stand beside her sister.

"Me too," Leia said, as she went to stand with them. The three girls looked around the room. Han was still trying not to choke, and had turned bright red, so Leia nodded to Chewie, who thumped him on the back. Han coughed and spluttered, fell off his seat, then quickly stood back up.

"Me too," he coughed, glaring at Chewie, who ignored him and nodded at Leia. Then they all turned to Sola, who was still in a state of shock.

"Mum?" Pooja asked, and Sola looked at them all.

"Alright!" she said at last, although her voice was strained and full of worry.

"Right, the ship's all ready, so we're ready when you are," Leia informed them.

Han turned to her, impressed, and she just smiled at him before planting a loving kiss on his cheek and leaving to go and make sure she'd got everything from their room.

Han turned to Chewie. "I love that woman!" he said and Chewie nodded and grumbled something.

"You said it Chewie," Han replied, as he and his co-pilot went out to the ship to make sure it was ready for take-off. As Leia had said, everything was good to go, so Han and Chewie took their places in the cockpit and waited for the others.

Leia took one last look at the house as they all took off, and muttered "We're coming Mum."


	11. Chapter 11

**Author Note: Ok, I'm back, and I'm on a role! I now have the next chapter and a half written, so as long as I don't get sidetracked doing other things, I should be able to update regularly...up until x-mas at least...jeez, only seven days to go! AAARGH!**

Luke and Mara were waiting for the group outside, when they arrived. Both had been inside the home, but hadn't found anything, other than a few blood stains and scuff marks in the sand. Not even the force could show Luke what had happened, not matter how hard he had tried.

Leia was first down the ramp, followed by Han, Sola, Ryoo, Chewie and Pooja. Then came C-3PO, who went straight over to R2, his safety companion. C-3PO never felt safe unless he was with R2.

Leia ran down the last little bit of the ramp, hopped onto the sand and ran over to her brother, hugging him tightly. The sand burned the soles of herboots, and she could feel the heat through them, but she didn't care. She was here, she was going to find her mother, and she was going to take her home again.

Luke seemed just as pleased to see her, and returned the hug gratefully.

"We came as fast as we could," Leia told him. "But **someone** got us lost near Mos Espa and we had to land and ask for directions," she said, glaring at Han, who made a point of digging a trench with the toe of his boot.

"I'm glad you came," Luke said to the group at last. Sola walked over and looked down into the courtyard below, shocked at the conditions her sister had had to put up with. It was a far cry from the luxuries that Padme had been used to as a Queen and Senator.

"How could anyone live in this place?" she gasped, and Luke walked over, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"You get used to it. Trust me."

Luke introduced them to Mara next. All of them were a little wary of her, but she was polite and the introductions went smoothly. Then they all made their way down into the courtyard area together. Luke delegated the jobs to everyone and they all set about obediently, knowing that the sooner the jobs were done, the better.

Sola, Ryoo, Pooja, C-3PO and R2-D2 began gathering everything they could and carried it up to the ship, where Han and Chewie loaded it into the special smuggling compartments that Han had smuggled himself in once, along with Luke, Chewie and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Luke and Mara showed Leia the small signs that they had found, and asked her opinion about them, to which Leia replied exactly the same as Luke had.

"Well, there's more than one type of blood here, meaning that she put up a fight. But it looks like there was about twenty of them at least."

She crouched next to a puddle of blood and touched it, just like Luke had. Like Luke, she saw nothing. Then she saw another puddle nearby.

"Did you try that one?" she asked, pointing to it.

"No. I figured, if I couldn't see anything from this one, I wouldn't see anything from that one either."

"Well they're from two different beings. Look, this one is darker."

Leia suddenly shook her head in surprise. Here she was, discussing pools of blood like it was a common, everyday thing, and yet, this blood could easily be her mother's. Her mother could be bleeding to death somewhere and all she was thinking about was the colour of the blood infront of her. With this sudden thought in mind, Leia became more desperate to find out if any of these pools of blood actually belonged to her mother.

Touching the surface of the next puddle, Leia suddenly saw Padme running down the steps from outside, clutching her cloak around herself with one hand, and holding a small velvet bag in the other. She threw the bag to one side and ran into the room beside Leia, re-emerging a moment later with a silver pistol.

There were several shouts and hundreds of creatures appeared everywhere, dropping from above, running down the steps and completely trashing the place. They were human like in the way that they walked, but apart from that, no comparison between them and humans should ever be made, for they were the foulest things Leia had ever seen. They were even worse than Jabba the Hutt, and he had been hiddeous.

They were dressed all in black, with spikes protruding from their elbows, upper arms and shoulders, aswell as antler-like horns protruding from their heads. They had pale skin, with evil red eyes and sharp, fang filled mouths. Several of them carried staffs made from what looked like an animal's spine that had been carved into an evil weapon, and could easily rip through flesh. Their armour was black and menacing, and Leia truly dreaded ever having to meet such creatures.

They all made a beeline for Padme who backed away, firing at each one in turn, always hitting her mark, and never missing once. One by one, she picked them off, but still they kept coming, and then the nearest one lurched forwards, knocking her pistol from her hand with one end of his staff before clubbing her round the back of the head with the other, blunt side.

Padme fell to the floor, unconscious, and a trickle of blood ran from just behind her ear and into the sand where Leia was now crouched. The creatures hoisted her up and dragged her unceremoniously back up the steps, whilst a few carried the bodies of their dead companions back up too. This went on until no bodies were left, and then there was the sound of several engines as a fleet of ships took off into space.

Leia snapped out of the vision and saw Luke and Mara looking at her worriedly. The sight of the Vongs had scared her stiff and she couldn't stop shaking as Luke helped her back to her feet.

"What did you see?" Mara asked softly as she supported Leia's other arm, and guided her over to a nearby chair.

"I saw them. They...they're awful! So...so horrid!" Leia gasped, accepting a glass of water that Luke had fetched for her. She took several long sips and felt herself calming down a bit.

"What did they look like?" Luke asked, but Leia shook her head, not wanting to remind herself of them, so Luke went over to the puddle to see for himself, whilst Mara took care of Leia.

"Did you see where they took her?" Mara asked.

Leia shook her head, and Mara sighed in frustration as she began to pace back and forth. It was only as Leia watched her pace, that she was suddenly struck with an idea.

"If you were going to kidnap someone, and you wanted to keep them hidden until you could decide a ransom, where would you take them?"

"I don't know..." Mara said as she contemplated.

"I do," Leia revealed and Mara stopped pacing, suddenly intruiged.

"Where?" she asked.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"No," Luke and Mara said together. Luke had finished watching the images and had come back to join them. It was Leia's turn to give a frustrated sigh this time.

"Well think about it...from what I saw, they don't like modern technology so that would rule out any city planets like Coruscant. They wouldn't risk somewhere like Naboo or Tatooine because they are too well known and populated...but they would go to somewhere like Hoth!"

"Hoth?" Luke asked, the name bringing a chill to his spine. That place held pleanty of bad memories for him. He had been attacked by a Wompa, almost frozen to death, had lost one of his best friends, and had spent twenty four hours in a tank of bacta. Something told him that going back wouldn't be a good choice.

"She's right," Mara said. "Hoth isn't populated, and it's covered in snow and ice. Only a fool would go to such a place without good reason, and not many people have a good reason. Its a perfect hideout. Plus, there's your old base, Echo Station, which they can live in."

"I don't know," Luke still didn't like the idea, but he could see he was fighting a losing battle.

**A/N: Ok guys, I know that Hoth probably wouldn't be the best place to take a hostage, but I wanted lots of ice and snow for a little later in the story, and Hoth was the only ice planet I could think of. Also, I realise that some explanation is needed about Leia's visions...Luke can see visions whenever he touches something to do with a person...but Leia can only see visions when she touches something directly to do with that person, such as hair or blood. It's my way of showing that she's a weaker force user than Luke. Does that make sense?**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author Note: Hey guys, I'm so glad to hear that you guys like this story so much...it is definately the one I like writing the most...except for maybe the Galactic Wine one...but I mean, this is my favourite action/drama/whatever I rated it story.**

**So I hope you all enjoy it now that we're finally getting to the rescue...which, I can tell you...won't go exactly to plan (because let's face it...nothing ever does!)**

"Well there it is...Echo Base," Mara's voice came over the radio. Luke shuddered as he glanced down at the ice planet again. He was in his x-wing, and Mara had taken the others in her ship. Luke hadn't liked the idea, because he still didn't trust her, but Leia had pointed out that if Mara tried to do anything, there was enough of them there to stop her. After all, she was with Chewie, Artoo, C-3PO, Ryoo and Pooja.

Han had taken Sola and all the stuff back to Naboo, where he would help her unload, then join them on Hoth. Sola had asked to stay on Naboo because she wasn't the fighting sort, unlike her sister. However, Ryoo and Pooja had jumped at the chance to go with their cousins. It seemed that they were desperate to be more like thier adventurous cousins.

The two ships circled the base whilst Artoo scanned for any life forms. Sure enough, there was life, but whether it was the Vongs, or a Wompa, he couldn't tell.

They decided to take the chance and landed a little way from the base so that they wouldn't be detected. Luke hopped out of the cockpit and pulled on his thick cloak, wrapping it tightly round himself and running over to Mara's ship as the ramp lowered. An icy wind was whipping round his face and he wished he'd brought a hat or something to keep his head warm. He could have worn his pilot's helmet, but that would have been both stupid and impractical.

Leia and Mara were the first out, followed by Ryoo and Pooja. It seemed that the four of them had been raiding the in-built wardrobe and all of Leia's clothing, because all of them were wearing thick thermal body warmers with thermal leggins, knee high boots and fur lined hoods. Apparently, they'd had the same idea as Luke...although they actually had something to keep their heads warm.

"Luke, there's a couple of things in there that may fit you...I'm sure Han won't mind if you borrow them," Leia said to him and Luke nodded gratefully, darting up the ramp. A little while later he re-emerged, dressed in a thick grey jacket, that had a fur lined hood and thick trousers with knee high boots. They were the same clothes Han had worn on his last trip to Hoth, so they were a little big, but Luke didn't care. He was warm at last!

"Right, I think the back entrance would be the best way in, but its a long walk. Is everyone ok with that?" Leia asked and the others nodded. Luke pulled out his lightsaber just incase they met any of the planet's unpleasant inhabitants, and the group set off, following Leia, (who knew her way better than anyone else, seeing as she had been incharge of it last time), each walking in single file with their hoods and coats wrapped tightly round them and their shoulders hunched with their heads down, trying to keep the wind from whistling down the backs of their necks, or freezing their cheeks.

The going was hard because the snow was knee deep and dragged their feet down, making them feel like they were wearing concrete boots. A few of them stumbled and once, the snow was so deep that when Ryoo fell into it, she completely dissapeared from view.

Luke's nerves were in shreds as he walked, because he kept hearing sounds like growls or snarls. He tried to tell himself that it was the wind, but that didn't stop him from tightening his grip on his saber and looking all around him, straining to see into the blizzard which they were now battling through.

Mara soon took the lead when Leia became hard to see through the thick snow, so the group followed her flame red hair into a nearby cave to wait until the blizzard had passed.

As they all stepped in out of the snow, Leia brushed the snow off her shoulders and hood, then cried out in surprise and anger as Chewbacca shook the snow from his fur and it fell on her.

"If I wasn't married to your best friend-!" she threatened and Chewie backed away sheepishly.

Luke, meanwhile, had found some logs in a corner and had started a fire, which they all crowded round.

"Where did you get these?" Mara asked as she examined another log before chucking it on the fire too.

"Over there. There's a whole heap of them," Luke replied, pointing to a corner.

Mara went to examine the logs, then came running back, suddenly panicked. "We have to get out! NOW!" she cried, scooping up her belongings and running for the entrance.

"What's the hurry?" Leia called, as she picked up another log to throw it on the fire. However, she stopped dead when she looked down at the log, and all the colour drained from her face. "Luke, these aren't logs...these are bones! This is a wompa cave!"

The others didn't need telling twice. Suddenly everyone was scooping up their bags and running after Mara, just as the gigantic snow creature emerged from another part of the cave. When it saw them running, it gave chase, blood dripping from it's fangs. Obviously it had just been feeding on a recent catch, and they could only hope that it had been an unfortunate Vong.

At the entrance to the cave, Mara and Leia turned and started shooting at the beast, whilst Luke ushered his cousins out and found them a hiding place behind a large boulder. Then he ran back, lightsaber lit, ready to fend the beast off if it attacked. However, he needn't have worried, for a few well aimed shots from Mara and Leia had the beast running back into its cave again.

"I'm so glad Threepio wasn't here to see that," Luke muttered to Leia as they started on their way again. "You know how flustered he gets at the slightest sign of danger."

Leia nodded in agreement and imagined the golden droid running round shouting '_Artoo, Artoo, Do something! Artoo!_'

Luckily, they had left the droids to take care of the ships and give Han a message when he arrived, so the group could carry on without having to wait for them. After all, there was no way either of them would have been able to make it through the snow. Artoo may have been resourceful, but his rocket boosters had jammed up long before Luke had met him, so he wouldn't have been able to fly over it, like he once would have.

"Are you alright?" Leia said kindly to Ryoo as the two women walked side by side a little later on. Ryoo nodded, for it seemed that she was too cold to do anything else.

"What was she like when you knew her?" Leia asked, just trying to make conversation to keep her mind off how cold she was.

"Who? Aunt Padme?"

Leia nodded.

"I was only young...she supposedly 'died' when I was about nine, so I didn't really know her as well as I could have done. But she was very kind, and very beautiful. She always used to bring Artoo with her, and my sister and I would play with him for hours whilst Mum and Aunt Padme talked about things that, at the time I never understood. My mum used to call her a work-a-holic, because Aunt Padme always thought of others, before thinking of herself. She wouldn't rest until she was sure that everything was right on Naboo...which of course, it never was."

"She sounds like someone else I know," Leia sighed, glancing at Luke, who was up ahead with Mara, trying to formulate a plan.

"Mum always tried to encourage her to give up her Senate work and settle down with a family of her own, but Aunt Padme would never hear of it. Infact I think the only time I've ever seen her not working was when she had to go into hiding, with Uncle Anakin as her protector. Of course, they weren't married then...I don't even know if they were properly in love...but that was the happiest I'de seen her in a long time."

"Why did she have to go into hiding?" Leia asked curiously as memories of the interupted vision came back to her. She wanted to ask about Anakin aswell, but he was still just an evil Sith to her, and she wasn't really comfortable about talking about him at the moment, even though Ryoo seemed perfectly comfortable to call him 'Uncle Anakin', and seemed to have trouble talking about him.

So for the rest of the trek, Ryoo told Leia all about the assassination attempts on Padme's life, and how the Jedi had assigned Anakin to protect her.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author Note: Ok guys, before I carry on with the story, I'd just like to make one thing clear. If any of you have read the review I received earlier from a certainMicheal Martinez,**** then you'll see why I'm so mad. **

**Can I just say that if you're going to write stuff like that...at least check the facts first! There are perfectly good reasons why I did all those things...and if you'de wait until a little further into the story, they'd be explained...but don't go telling me that what I'm writting is wrong when you don't even know why I've written what I have...and if you don't like stories that stray from the books or the films...then what the hell are you doing on fanfiction?**

**And if you don't wanna read my story any more, just stop reading...don't tell me that your gonna stop reading...coz that hurts more than anything else...**

**Ok, thats my little moan over for now, but if anyone wants to hear my complete views on why that review made me so mad, then don't hesitate to ask, coz I'd love to get it all off my chest...rather than keeping it bottled up.**

**Anyways, sorry about that, but I just wanted to make my point. Now I think I have, so lets get on with the story shall we?**

At last, after what seemed like hours, they reached the base and Luke and Chewbacca wrenched open the large steel doors wide enough for them all to get through.

Once they were all inside, the doors closed again and plunged them all into darkness until they all pulled out several light sticks that Mara had found in her ship.

They each cracked them and held them up so that the hanger they were standing in lit up. There, in the far corner sat a single ship, like the one Luke had almost been crushed in so long ago.

They walked across the hanger, their footsteps echoing eerily, and none of them dared speak, for fear of being heard.

Chewbacca pulled open the next door and went through first. He hastily backed out a moment later as angry shouts grew louder. Luke tried to push the door shut, but the Yuuzhan Vong guards had got there first and burst through the door, staffs raised above their heads. Almost immediately, one fell to the floor, then another as Leia and Mara shot at them. A moment later, the next few had no arms as Luke also joined in, cutting them down with his saber. Finally only one remained, and Chewbacca grabbed it round the neck. There was a loud crack and it fell to the floor, it's neck broken.

Ryoo and Pooja looked at the others, impressed at their skills. Each of them had their own unique way of fighting, and together, they were virtually unstoppable. Leia could see that they wanted to be a part of the action aswell, so she delved into her pack and tossed them a pair of pistols that she had found at Padme's place on Tatooine. The two looked slightly worriedly at the weapons in their hands, but soon enough, both had tucked them in their belts and were following the others down the passage again.

After another long trek down a desserted corridor, the group emerged into a large ice arena that Luke and Leia had never seen before. It was newly built, obviously by the Vongs, and yet it was desserted.

"Whats up, Luke?" Pooja whispered as they made their way around the top of the arena, weaving between the blocks of ice that served as seats.

"Its too quiet...We should have met some more guards by now," he replied, looking all around the arena. As though echoing his thoughts, there was a grinding sound and a large door down in the main arena slid open.

The group ducked behind the nearest ice seats and watched as a prisoner was dragged into the centre of the arena.

"Is it her?" Ryoo asked, but when Leia looked closer, she saw that it was a Yuuzhan Vong. He had been stripped of his armour and weapons, but looked no less awful. She shook her head and felt a collective sigh of relief from the others.

A moment later, doors all around the edges opened up and Yuuzhan Vong spectators began to file in. Luke directed the group over to a tiny little cave bit which they all hid in to watch, right at the very top of the stand.

"What are they doing?" Pooja asked as they watched a large Wompa enter the arena, growling and snarling. Luke knew exactly what was going on, and it was something he didn't want to see.

"It's an execution," he told the others. "We should leave...now."

But they were trapped in their hiding place, and there was nothing they could do but listen to the screams of the prisoner, and the cheers of the crowd.

Once or twice, Leia would peer over the top of the ice block to see if the spectacle was close to finishing, but if anything, it seemed to fill up more and more every time she looked. Chewbacca was getting fidgety, because he was cramped in a tight space and was dying to stretch his legs, and Luke and Mara were having a whispered argument about something.

"Oh, I wish Han was here," Leia muttered to herself as she peered over the block again. Suddenly there was a loud cry...and then silence as everybody in the stands turned their way. Even the Wompa stopped munching for a moment and peered up.

Leia dropped back down and sat flat against the ice, hoping that no one had seen her. Then she looked around for the source of the noise.

Chewie had been aching so much that he had stretched a leg out, rather sharply and accidentaly kicked Ryoo in the face. Now she was clutching her nose, which was bleeding heavily. Leia motioned for them all to be silent as she turned and peered back over the ice block, hoping that the Vongs had gone back to watching the arena.

Unfortunately, as she peered up, she came face to face with a Vong, who gave a great war cry and swung his staff at her. She ducked and managed to roll to one side as the others pulled out their weapons. Now, they had no choice but to fight, and it was a battle that Leia didn't think that they could win, no matter how good the others may have been at fighting.

Six against at least two hundred wasn't exactly anything to get their hopes up about. But then, like Han had always said _'It ain't over till the fat hutt sings!' _and the 'fat hutt' certainly hadn't sung yet.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author Note: AW...thanks guys for your great reviews...I'm so glad you like this story...I was getting worried that you wouldn't...and some of the things you suggested about that review were very tempting...but i'm just gonna take the high road and ignore them...so here's the next part of the story for you... enjoy!**

**Oh and yes...the later section of this chapter is an adaptation of the chapter in one of the books,becauseI was reading it the other day and it just fitted so perfectly...sorry if it spoils the story a little but now you know...(just incaseI get any more hate reviews! lol)**

Han crept along in the shadows of the base, blaster held tightly in his hand. He'd finally arrived on Hoth, and after listening to Leia's intructions, had set off, following the footsteps of the others. The wind had blown snow over them, but they were still visible enough for him to follow. He made sure that he went straight past the wompa cave, partly because he had no need to go in in the first place, and partly because he could see the wompa's huge footprints and knew exactly what was hiding in there.

He had found the back entrance of the base, and followed the same corridors as the others until he came to the arena, where all hell had broken lose.

Luke was desperately trying to fight two Vongs and avoid the wompa at the same time, Leia was helping Ryoo up the steps whilst Pooja shot at anything that moved, and Mara and Chewie were back to back on the other side of the arena, fighting at least ten Vongs between them.

Han so desperately wanted to run in and join the fight, but something told him not to. _If you go chargin in there, you'll get em all killed! Just wait, be patient and everythin'll be ok, _he told himself. He knew it was completely against his nature to hide, rather than join in, but he had a gut feeling that he'd be more use if he hid now, rather than get caught or killed with the others.

However, the vongs may not have seen him, but Mara had, and she was making her way towards him at that moment, shouting something about getting his backside out there and helping them now, or she'd personally make him pay later. He saw several vongs turn his way and ducked back into the shadows.

Peering back round a moment later, he saw that Leia, Ryoo and Pooja had been cornered, and were now fighting in anyway that they could to escape. Han was both shocked, and surprised when Leia flipped into the air and kicked a vong in between the eyes, sending it toppling down the ice steps, whilst Ryoo, still holding her nose with one hand, punched out with the other and sent another vong down to join it's partner.

Then Han watched as Luke finally disposed of the Wompa and it went crashing to the ground, emiting one final howl before closing it's eyes. It seemed that they were actually doing alright for themselves, but then everything went downhill.

Chewbacca slipped on the ice and went crashing to the ground, where he was captured and his wrists were bound tightly, despite the fact that he kept sending the guards flying with angry kicks and nudges of his huge elbows.

Luke also slipped and lost his footing, and his lightsaber went flying into the outstretched hand of the nearest vong, whilst Leia, Ryoo and Pooja had been backed up against a wall with no-where to run. Their weapons were also snatched from them, leaving Mara, who was still fighting across the way, near one of the exits.

Han watched as she fought bravely, but eventually he saw her fall from halfway up the stone steps, her limp form toppling from ice seat to ice seat and the Vong, triumphant, running back towards the others.

In one last desperate attempt to escape, Luke used the force to cause an avalanche, which buried half of the guards, but even that wasn't enough and the five of them were dragged away out of the arena.

And it was only then that Han suddenly realised why he'd known to stay out of the fight. Leia glanced back his way as she was dragged off and gave him an encouraging nod.

_She used the force to somehow tell me not to join in...how the hell did she do that? _Han thought. But then again, there were many things about the force that he didn't know, and wasn't really sure that he wanted to.

oOo

When the Yuuzhan Vong did not kill them immediately, Leia's mind began working frantically. By the time the guards led her and the others into a large conference room, she was calm and ready. She'd even taken on her old Princess's stance, holding her head high and proud.

As they entered the ice cold chamber, she saw what must have been the Vong's leaders standing around the room, with one sat at a large table infront of them. There were Yuuzhan guards everywhere, even though the first thing their captors had done was to confiscate their weapons and bind their wrists with course rope that dug into their skin.

_They certainly aren't taking any chances, _she thought. _It must be the fact that Luke's a Jedi that's making them so wary. If only I were as good a Jedi as Luke, we could certainly give them a run for their money then._

Before anyone could speak, she had stepped forward.

"You are holding a woman called Padme Amidala," she said in her most authoritative voice...the one that always made Han cringe. "I am formally requesting that you turn her over to me. Now."

The Vong at the table studied her calmly. "She is our hostage, Milady," he said at last, and he sounded slightly amused at the fact that a prisoner had just demanded something like he was her prisoner, and not the other way around.

"You had your chance to pay the ransom, but you failed, so she is to be executed as an example to the galaxy." He smiled gently, as if the thought pleased him.

"She is a Senator of the Galactic Republic!" Leia said, outraged. "You can't do that!"

"The Senate was dissolved long ago, and does not exist, therefore, she is no longer a Senator. If you're so desperate to save her, you should have paid the ransom when you could."

"What ransom?" Leia demanded. She glanced back at the others, who looked just as confused as she did.

"I don't have time to argue," the Vong sighed, and motioned to the guards. "Lock them up with the other one. They can all die, as an example to the Galaxy of how powerful we have become."

Before Leia could protest further, she and the others had been taken out of the chamber.

They were put into four cells down under the base, their hands still bound tightly together. Ryoo and Pooja had been put into one, Luke and Chewbacca in another, R2-D2 and C-3PO, who had been found wandering in the snow in another, and Leia in the very end cell.

At first she had paced all about the cell like an angry tiger, looking for any way out. She even tested the walls to see if they could be broken down, but there was no escaping this time.

Eventually she had given in and slumped against one wall, burying her head in her hands.

"Are you alright?" a female asked and Leia jumped. She had been so sure that she was alone. Mind you, she had been so determined to get out that she had probably walked past her cell mate several times without realising it. Looking around, she finally found the owner of the voice as the woman stepped out from the shadows. It was a woman that Leia recognized immediately, and she was both stunned and shocked.

"Mother?" she whispered.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author Note: Ok guys, you asked for more, so you got more! And once again thanks for the great reviews...ok, now a little info about the first half of this chapter...Padme mentions a certain 'personal joke' which I added at the last minute...hopefully you'll all understand it, but if not, I'll be more than happy to explain it to you...just ask!**

**So, Enjoy!**

"Mother?" The woman repeated in surprise as she crouched infront of Leia. "I think you must be mistaken."

"I'm sorry, I meant Mara," Leia appologised, although she had no idea why she'd just said that. It was as if the words had just fallen out of her mouth and she had no control over them. She knew who this woman was, but clearly the woman had no idea who she was.

"I have no children," the woman continued as she untied Leia's wrists. "My children died long ago."

_If only she knew who I was, _Leia thought. She wanted to tell this woman that she was her daughter, but somehow the words wouldn't form.

"You're Padme Amidala aren't you?" she asked instead, then almost kicked herself for not telling the truth about who she was.

"Yes I am. How did you know that?" Padme asked as she threw the ropes to one side and Leia rubbed her sore wrists.

"I...I've seen pictures...and I've met you...briefly a long time ago."

"Well it must have been a long time ago, because I haven't really spoken to anyone for over twenty years now," Padme sighed. Then she changed the subject, as though she didn't want to be reminded of the past. "So what are you doing here? Did you get kidnapped aswell?"

"No. Actually I was here to rescue you," Leia replied, feeling rather sheepish.

"Good Job!" Padme replied wryly and Leia looked at her in surprise.

"What?"

"Personal joke," Padme said quickly, not meaning to offend her. "So come on, you know my name, but do I know yours?"

"I doubt it," Leia sighed. The conversation was slowly edging back towards the one path that she wasn't comfortable about, and yet she had no choice but to go down it.

"Well, are you going to tell me your name, or do I have to guess?" Padme prompted politely, and Leia could see that there was no turning back now. She'd have to go all the way and tell the truth...about everything.

"My name's Leia Organa Solo. I was the adopted daughter of Bail Organa of Alderaan."

"Bail Organa? I used to be friends with him. He's a good man. How is he now?" Padme said as she settled herself beside Leia. Leia could feel something in Padme that made her feel slightly more comfortable and she guessed that it was probably Padme's hidden maternal streak.

"He died. So did my adopted mother. Our planet was destroyed."

"Destroyed! What could destroy a whole planet?" Padme asked in disbelief. It seemed that Bail's death may have hit Padme harder than Leia had anticipated. If Padme thought that was bad, how would she handle what Leia had to say next?

"The Empire built a huge space station called a Death Star. It was powerful enough to destroy a whole planet, and my home was chosen to test it out. I tried to save it by telling them false information, but they went ahead and destroyed it anyway. My own biological father sentenced me to execution and I was taken back to my cell. Of course, I didn't know he was my father at the time."

"That's awful," Padme exclaimed. Leia wiped a tear from her eye, and Padme wrapped a sympathetic arm around her, giving her a little comforting squeeze. Leia felt so much warmth and love radiating from this woman that if there had ever been any doubt in her mind that this may not be her mother after all, all those thoughts were wiped away there and then.

"But then my brother saved me. He was with my husband at the time, but of course, I had no idea he was my brother, and I'd never have dreamed of marrying someone like Han. They rescued me, but lost a friend in the process. He was a Jedi Master called Ben Kenobi."

"Ben Kenobi? I wonder if he was related to Obi-Wan Kenobi?" Padme wondered aloud.

"He was the same person. He'd been forced to go into hiding on Tatooine and assumed a new name."

"So...so Obi-Wan's dead aswell?" Padme stiffened slightly, and Leia could feel her shuddering, so she did her best to send soothing waves through the force.

"Yes. I'm afraid so. But he died saving me, so I'm truly grateful to him. And if it wasn't for him, I would never have found my brother in the first place."

"Were you and your brother seperated then?" Padme asked curiously as she took a deep breath and composed herself again.

"Yes. We were told that our parents had been killed, and that being seperated was for our own good. Luke went to Tatooine to live with his Aunt and Uncle - "

"Did you say Luke?" Padme asked, a look of disbelief on her face. Leia realised that at last the penny had finally begun to drop, and Padme was at last starting to realise who she was sharing a cell with.

"Yes. Luke Skywalker," Leia replied, and the look on Padme's face confirmed that at last, she had worked it out. After all, how else would this young woman, with the same name as her daughter, have a brother called Luke Skywalker, and know two of Padme's closest friends, as well as have a father who worked for the Empire?

"It...it can't be true...they told me you were dead..." she gasped, pulling away from Leia and holding her at arm's length so that she could look her up and down. Then she broke down in tears of joy as Leia pulled her mother close and hugged her tight, never wanting to let her go ever again.

"It's ok Mum. I'm here...I'm here," she soothed as tears began to role down her cheeks aswell.

oOo

Back out in the arena, the Vong were still searching for Mara. She had fallen somewhere near one of the entrances, and yet she was no-where to be found.

After about half an hour of searching, the guards finally gave up and left, reasoning that Mara had probably escaped when their backs were turned. Han, however, knew better. As soon as the last guard had gone, he emerged from the shadows, ran down the ice steps and across the arena, hoping over the bodies of the dead Vong and diverting round the Wompa.

He skidded across the last little bit and dropped to his knees, digging frantically in the snow. What everyone had forgotten was that Luke had caused a snowslide when he was trying to escape, and Han had watched Mara get buried under it.

He had been forced to wait for a whole hour, which was so frustrating, but now the wait had payed off, because as he dug, he felt something else. Uncovering it a little more, he found that it was a gloved hand.

A little more digging and Han was able to pull Mara free. Her flame red hair was soaking wet from the slushy ice and snow and hung losely about her shoulders, her lips had turned blue, she was ice cold, and at first, Han couldn't feel a pulse. As he wrapped her in his coat, however, and hauled her into his arms, she gave a slight gasp.

_Thank god she's still alive, _Han thought as he carried her back up the steps to the exit. The Falcon was too far for him to carry her to, and the weather had become too unpredictable, so he took her to the closest medical facility - the one right there in the base. He just hoped that the Vongs weren't using it.

As it happened, they weren't, so he was able to get there without incident.

"Now the hard bit," he muttered as he laid her in one of the beds. Did he try and help her, or did he go after the others and try to rescue them, then come back for her?

Either way was risky. If he tried to save Mara, the Vongs could find them, or Leia and the others might be killed. If he tried to save Leia, Mara would almost certainly die, and there was no guaruntee that he'd be able to save the others without getting caught himself. At least, if he saved Mara, she may be able to get back to the ship and call for help. If she was a smuggler, like Luke had said, she may know some of his old contacts who still owed him a favour.

"Jeez, if Leia found out that I was choosin this...'scoundrel' over her, she'd flip. But I gotta save Mara. Oh hell, I'll just have to make sure Leia don't find out," he muttered as he began pulling things out of cupboards. He had no idea what he was doing, and he was immensly relieved when he at last found a medical droid that was still able to function.

He explained what had happened, and the droid checked Mara over. She was stone white, ice cold, barely breathing, and had a cut across her side which was still seeping blood, and yet the droid turned round and informed him that she was in no immediate danger.

"Don't s'pose there's any chance of a second opinion?" he snapped, as he checked outside the door for any guards.

"There is no need Captain Solo. She will be perfectly fine, I assure you. A good long soak in bacta should make her as good as new in no time." Han didn't look convinced, but he knew that he was wasting valuable time by arguing with the droid, so in the end, he went along with it.

"Great. Listen, I gotta go free my wife, but I'll be back soon, so you make her good and ready for me when I come back, ya hear? Otherwise I'll turn ya into spare parts for my ship," Han threatened and if the droid's face could have shown emotion, it would certainly have been showing a look of horror at that moment. Han left the medical room, locking the door behind him. At least Mara was safe now, even if she had been left with a tin can on legs. (Han never had liked droids much).

He began to sprint down the corridors, blaster held out infront of him. Time was running short, and if he didn't hurry, he could lose everything he'd worked so hard for these past few years, and he wasn't just thinking about his wife. That was a thought that sent a cold shiver down his spine. He hadn't fought the Empire alongside his wife and best friends, only to lose them a year later in a frozen wasteland to a group of savage monsters.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author Note: Ok guys, this will be my last post until after boxing day now...sorry to make you all wait so long, but hopefully this is an extra long chapter to make up for that...and if it doesn't the next one will! HAHAHAHA! (festive spirit! lol!) **

**Enjoy!**

**Oh, and thanks so much for your great reviews, they are great to read and I'm always shocked to find I have about seven or eight waiting in my inbox to read every morning, so thanks for being such great readers and supporters!**

After the shock of realising that Leia was her daughter, Padme was in such a state of elation that not even her looming death sentence could dampen her spirits. Mind you, this wasn't the first time she'd been sentenced to death, so she wasn't really worried.

All she wanted to do was find out everything she could about her children, right down to their favourite colours. Of course, Leia didn't really know much about Luke's early life, but she told Padme as much as she knew about her brother.

Their conversation would occasionally mention Anakin, but both were quick to steer clear of him for the moment. Padme didn't want to talk about him because she'd heard of his death last year and was still too upset to talk about him just yet, and Leia didn't want to talk about him because she hated him, and everything he had done to the people in her life, including what he had done to her mother. Padme hadn't told her what had happened, but Leia had seen the vision and didn't need to be told.

Leia knew that she'd have to talk about him sometime, because Padme would want to, but as far as Leia was concerned, the longer she put it off, the better.

Hours went by and it seemed that the death sentences were just empty threats, supposed to scare them, but then, in what must have been the early hours of the morning, Padme heard footsteps and the jangle of keys. There were voices too, but the door and walls were so thick that they were hard to make out.

_This is it then, _She though to herself. _I finally find my family again, only to be torn away from them hours later...life is so cruel!_

She glanced over at Leia, who was fast asleep in the corner, wrapped up in Padme's cloak. She looked so peaceful and happy as she dreamt, twitching or murmering slightly every now and then. Padme could have watched her forever.

But the key was in the lock now, and it slowly turned. The door groaned and creaked open and Padme took a deep breath, steadying herself, getting ready for what would come next.

However, no amount of preparation could have prepared her for what did come next.

oOo

Mara groaned as she sat up in the bed and looked around. She was still in Echo base, that was obvious from the icicles hanging from the ceiling, but she was in a medical centre, and there was a working medical droid over at one of the consoles.

It turned when it heard that she had woken and came hovering back over.

"Greetings Mistress Jade...I am DT-49. How are you feeling?"

"Cold...and sore," Mara replied as she sat up a little more and felt her side. It was aching, but it was only a dull ache, like she had a slight bruise there. Then she realised that she wasn't dressed in her thermals anymore, she was in a plain white gown, and her hair had been tied up neatly into a pony tail at the back of her head. Clearly she'd been out of it for some time. She saw a bacta tank, still full of liquid, and guessed that that was why she wasn't feeling much pain in her side.

"Where are the others?" she asked, suddenly remembering that she hadn't been alone.

"I'm afraid they are scheduled to be terminated in approximately nine minutes -" the droid started.

"WHAT!" Mara cried, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and hopping onto her feet. However, they gave way underneath her and she toppled into the droid's outstretched arms.

"There is no need to worry. Captain Solo has gone to help them. He gave me strict orders - very strict ones actually - that I was to...now how did he put it..." suddenly the droid's voice changed to an almost perfect immitation of Han's ,"...'you make her good and ready for me when I come back, ya hear? Otherwise I'll turn ya into spare parts for my ship'...so that is what I have done. Now if you are to be ready for when he returns, you must rest."

"But Han needs -" Mara started as the droid directed her back into her bed.

"Master Solo gave me strict orders, so I must follow them," the droid said a little more forcefully, and Mara gave in, pulling herself back into the bed.

She felt a sudden sting, and saw the droid inject something into her arm. Almost immediately she felt drowzy and knew that it must be some kind of sedative, or sleeping drug. Before her head hit the pillow again and her eyes closed, she thought one last time about the others and hoped that they were safe. She also hoped that Han cold manage on his own, and wasn't relying on her help, because she certainly wouldn't be able to help him now...

oOo

As it happened, Han didn't actually need any help at all.

Ok, it had taken him a few hours to finally find the cells, but once he had, he'd caused a cave in a little way along the tunnel, then hidden in the shadows as several guards ran past. Once they'd gone past, he carried on, and found only one guard remained in the detention block.

"Alone at last," he had joked as he disposed of him and grabbed the keys, then he set off down the row of cells, opening every door he came to. The first people he'd found were Luke and Chewbacca.

Chewie was so pleased to see him that he'd almost crushed him in a bear hug, and it was only thanks to Luke's intervention that Han hadn't been strangled to death or snapped in half.

"Its good to see you too, buddy," Han coughed as Chewie set him back on his feet again and patted his head. Han's knees almost buckled under him, but he somehow managed to remain upright and began telling Luke all about Mara.

"I should go back for her. The Vongs may have found her," Luke said as Han carried on unlocking all the cells. There was no windows in the doors, so he couldn't tell if anyone was in them or not.

"Alright, take Chewie with you and meet me back at the Falcon," Han called as Luke grabbed his lightsaber from the table in the detention area and started back down the tunnel. "And Luke?" Han called. Luke stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"Go careful, Kid," Han said and Luke smiled, before making off down the tunnel again with Chewbacca following.

The next people Han came to were Ryoo and Pooja. He helped the two women out of the darkness of their cell, and directed them back to the main detention block area, where they stood, shivering, despite their thick layers of clothing. Then he found the droids,and told them to go and stay with Ryoo and Pooja whilst he opened the last cell. He prayed that it was the one that held Leia.

It was. But Leia wasn't the one he first saw when he opened the door.

There, standing in the centre of the cell, as though waiting for something, was a woman. She was old, in her fifties at least, and yet she was still young looking. She only had two or three well hidden grey hairs, but the rest of her hair fell almost to her waits in chocolate curls. Her eyes were intense and a deep shade of brown, much like Leia's. Infact, she looked alot like Leia, but there was a certain feeling of calm around her that reminded him of Luke. She was quite small, but Han could tell that this made her no less of a fighter. She reminded him of someone who had seen many battles in their time.

"You alright?" he asked as she stepped a little closer to take a look at him. There was a tiny trickle of dry blood down her neck, and Han realised that she hadn't had any medical treatment for it, and there was a possibility it could be infected.

"Yeah...um...you must be Han, huh?" she asked as she took in his tall frame and mop of untidy hair. "Leia's told me all about you."

"Are you Padme?" he asked and the woman nodded. "Pleased to meet ya," he held out his hand, and she shook it politely. Han was surprised at just how soft her skin felt to his rough, battle worn hands.

"Where's Leia?" he asked after a moment, peering into the darkness.

"I'm right here, Han," Leia said as she emerged from the shadows, handing Padme's cloak back to her.

"Great, lets find your brother and get outta here!" Han exclaimed, rushing back down the tunnel to where the others were waiting.

Leia wasn't impressed by his greeting, but then, Han never was one for soppy hugs and kisses in the presence of others, especially not in the present company of his mother-in-law. She looked at Padme, who looked a little alarmed at Han's greeting towards his wife, and smiled.

"Don't worry. He's alright once you get used to him."

"I'll take your word for it," Padme replied as the two women started down towards the others.

When Padme saw her nieces, she hugged them tight, so relieved that nothing had happened to them. Ryoo's nose had finally stopped bleeding, but she was stained with blood, and Padme wouldn't stop fussing over her until she was sure that she was alright.

"Look, I hate to break up the little family reunion, but we gotta go," Han said at last, slightly annoyed. Leia glared at him, but he pretended not to see and started off down the tunnel.

Luke had already cut his way through the ice blockade, so they had no difficulty there, and when they got to the medical room, Mara was nowhere to be found, so Han guessed that Luke and Chewbacca had made it safely.

On their way out, they met many more guards, but Padme proved just how skilled she was at fighting when she shot a narrow rope holding up an ice chandelier. It came crashing down on top of the guards and the others all diverted round it without difficulty.

Han was impressed, but he didn't dare say anything because he was already in Leia's bad books, and telling his mother-in-law that she was the best fighter he'd ever seen would definately secure his place on the sofa that night. He decided it was probably best if he said nothing at all as they ran out of the back entrance and into the freezing snow.

As she had run across the hanger, Leia had noticed that the last ship had gone. Luke and Chewbacca had probably used it to take Mara back to her ship, but would he come back for them? After all, some of them were struggling with the cold and desperately needed to get back to the warmth of the ship quickly, her being one of them (although she hated to admit it).

Padme, however, wasn't one of these people. Infact, she was right up in the lead with Han, battling on against the wind, and Leia was finding it hard to keep up with them.

At last, there was the sound of engines and three ships decended from the sky to land infront of them. Chewbacca was piloting Mara's ship whilst Mara lay in the back, Luke was flying the Falcon and his X-wing was being towed behind.

In no time at all, everyone was onboard one of the ships, and the group was heading back for Naboo, Luke piloting his X-wing with Artoo, Han piloting the Falcon, with Ryoo, Pooja and C-3PO onboard, and Chewbacca piloting Mara's Jade Saber, whilst Mara rested and Leia and Padme tidied up the wardrobe area.

Luke, although excited about the prospect if finally meeting his mother, kept out of her way whilst the ships were being boarded because he wanted their reunion to be special...not a rushed greeting on this horrendous ice planet. He caught a glimpse of Padme as she boarded the ship and knew that at last, she was going home, just like he'd promised his father.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author Note: Hey guys, hope you all had a great Christmas, or as AnakinVanhelsingLegolaSkywalker92**

**put it MERRY CHRISTMAHANAKWANZIKUH. Not quite sure what you mean, but anyways! **

**Well I'm back now, with another chapter (I'm really sorry for the delay by the way...problems with the Internet...), and I was reading this one through last night, just checking it over, and I realised that it was too short, so I added a little bit on to the end, which has completely taken me off on a different path to my original one, but this new path has so many new ideas for me to include, so let's hope it works.**

**Well, here's the chapter, and I hope you enjoy the little comedy moment with Leia. I did something similar the other day, although not quite the same (I fell into my wardrobe) and I just thought that there's been so much action so far that we needed a little comedy.**

**So enjoy, and sorry for the delay!**

Padme was desperate to ask Leia something...something that had been nagging her since she'd first met Leia. However, whenever she tried to talk to Leia about it, someone would appear and she'd have to change her sentence quickly. After all, she got the impression that Leia wanted to keep something a secret, and Padme didn't want to be responsible for accidentaly exposing this secret...if it turned out to be true in the first place.

But now that they were sitting in the living area, Chewbacca was busy navigating through an asteroid field, and Mara was still in the drug induced sleep, Padme finally found the chance to ask the question.

"Leia...are you pregnant?"

Leia looked so stunned that she tipped her drink down herself by accident, jumped up when it soaked through her skirt that she'd changed into, knocked the table flying then fell backwards into an open cupboard which slammed shut behind her, locking her in. Padme had to try very hard to keep from laughing aloud as she opened the cupboard door and helped Leia untangle herself from all the nets, bits of rope and other equipment used for making traps that had been stored in there.

"I'll take that as a yes then," Padme smiled as Leia sat back down again and dabbed at her wet skirt with a towel.

"How did you...I thought it wasn't...how...?" Leia was lost for words. Padme gently placed a hand on her daughters and looked her in the eyes.

"Leia, I was pregnant once too. And like you, I tried to cover it up...but no matter how hard we try, the ones who care about us always find out...even if we don't want them to."

"What do you mean?" Leia asked as she gave up her futile attempt to dry her skirt and just sat back, watching her mother.

"When I was pregnant with you and your brother, I had to try and hide that because I was married to your father, who was a Jedi. It was forbidden for a Jedi to fall in love, and if the counsil had found out, Anakin would have been expelled from the Jedi order. Also, if the Queen of Naboo had found out, she wouldn't have let me serve as Senator anymore..."

"But I've seen pictures of you when you were pregnant. You disguised it really well."

"That's because for almost my whole life, I've been living behind disguises...some to cover up the fact that I often used decoys for my safety, even though I hated that idea and lost many good friends because of it, and some to cover up my emotions for certain people in my life...so I was used to it really."

"What should I do?" Leia sighed. "I don't want to tell Han just yet, because he'd want to wrap me up in cotton wool, and wouldn't let me do anything. That would drive me crazy...but I can't keep on lying to him either."

"Do you love him?"

Padme's question was so unexpected that Leia almost repeated her earlier accident. However, Padme managed to grab the glass before that happened again and set it to one side.

"Of course I do," Leia replied, slightly suspiciously, as though the question may have been a trick question.

"Then tell him. If you're right about him being too over-protective, just tell him to back of a little and give you some space...be more assertive and forcefull...don't make the mistake I did of being too kind and sympathetic all the time."

Leia realized what her mother meant and nodded. "I suppose. But I've tried before...it's so hard..."

"I know, but the sooner you tell him, the better it will be for the both of you. Trust me," Padme replied gently as she brushed a few stray hairs off of Leia's cheek.

Leia knew her mother was right, so she promised to tell Han as soon as they landed back on Naboo. But for the time being, it was her turn to take care of her mother, because that cut on the back of her neck still hadn't been seen to yet.

Leia fetched a bowl of warm water, and some cotton pads, then she gently began wiping away the dried blood and dabbing at the cut. Padme winced, but never said a word as Leia cleaned it up, and the eventually the two began talking about more of their favourite things, sharing thoughts about each others ideas, and sharing a few jokes too. Padme even explained her little personal joke from earlier, which Leia found hilarious after she knew the full story.

It seemed that mother and daughter were finally beginning to re-form their bond that was broken so many years ago when they were torn apart, and it seemed that at last, Leia was finally beginning to soften to the idea of her father once being a kind and caring Jedi, although she still wasn't ready to admit that yet.

Padme seemed to feel Leia's change in emotion, but she knew not to say anything just yet. _Let Leia speak when she's ready...it would be silly to force her into it too soon._

Just then, alarms sounded and both Padme and Leia jumped to their feet and rushed into the cockpit, where Chewbacca was barking angrily at something out in space. The ship jolted and jerked, almost knocking the two women off their feet.

"What is it, Chewie?" Leia asked anxiously as she tried to spot what was getting him so aggitated. Chewbacca grumbled something that Leia didn't understand. Without C-3PO or Han to interpret, understanding the Wookie was impossible.

"Chewie calm down...steady...its just a minor set back...no big deal," Padme was saying as she strapped herself into the co-pilot's seat. Leia was amazed at how her mother could understand the wookie, but now was not the time for questions. She buckled herself into another seat and grabbed the radio as it crackled into life.

"Chewie, where you goin buddy? You're headin right into the middle of it!" Han asked anxiously, and there were a few worried whispers from Ryoo and Pooja in the background.

Chewie barked something, expecting Leia to pass on the message. Leia looked blankly at Padme, who smiled and replied "He says, tell Han that the steering's jammed and there's nothing he can do."

"What! Oh no...Han...Han can you hear me? Han? HAN?"

No answer.

"The radio's gone," she told them worriedly. "We're on our own."


	18. Chapter 18

**Author Note: Hey guys, once again, I'm sorry I am late posting, but I am in the middle of moving house at the moment so I can barely get to the computer through all the boxes. Well, because of this, and because of the fact that I actually need to do a bit of research for the story first, I have added two little words at the end of this chapter that you won't like, and I'm sorry. I shall explain more later!**

"What's going on?" Mara asked, still half asleep as she entered the cockpit. Leia and Chewbacca looked totally panicked, but Padme was calm and collected.

"Minor hitch. The steering's jammed and we're heading into the middle of an asteroid field," she replied.

"Oh, so nothing to worry about then," Mara said sarcastically as she took Chewbacca's seat and he took the spare seat beside Leia.

"You sure you're up to flying?" Leia asked worriedly as Mara stifled a yawn and took over the controls with Padme.

"Yep," she nodded, flicking a few switches, which turned off the rather annoying alarm. Chewie sighed in relief.

For a while it seemed that Padme and Mara had everything under control, and at last they began heading out of the asteroid field again. Leia was impressed at how they worked as a team, never once losing their temper at each other, but always calmly negotiating with each other. It seemed that Padme's calm nature complemented Mara's fiery nature perfectly.

But then, the alarms came back on again and the ship jolted so violently that Leia had to throw her arms out infront of her to stop herself from crashing into Padme's seat. She looked to Mara for an explanation as to what had just happened.

"Well that's the tail gone," Mara replied, looking anxiously at the screen to see the tail was now floating off into space.

"Don't we need that?" Leia cried.

"Apparently not," Padme grinned. Despite the obvious danger they were in, she was enjoying herself. After all, Anakin had always thrived in this type of situation, and now she could see why. The look on Leia's face was priceless.

But then the ship jolted again and Padme had to finally admit that the situation was getting out of hand. Anakin had once told her how he had landed a ship in similar circumstances with the Chancellor and Obi-Wan on board. He had been so proud of himself that he'd re-told the story to her over and over again in great detail so that now she knew it off by heart.

_Good job _she thought as she turned to the others and told them to hold on.

"Mara, what does that read-out say?" she asked as she took control, or at least tried to.

"There's a planet not far from here called Jomark, might be our only hope."

"Looks like we'll be paying Jomark a visit then. Hope they're more hospitable than on Hoth," Padme replied as she listened to Mara reading out more information about their hull temperature, altitude and speed.

They were in the atmosphere of Jomark a few moments later and were still moving far too fast. Padme opened every hatch and extended every drag fin in an attempt to slow them down, and for a moment, it seemed to be working. Then there was another enormous jolt and they began picking up speed again.

"We lost the back end!" Mara cried as her ship split in two.

"Not to worry," Padme grinned. "We're still flying half a ship."

"Another personal joke I suppose?" Leia muttered angrily and Padme glanced back at her daughter, who was clinging so tightly to her seat that her knuckles had turned white. Padme also looked at Mara, who was equally as scared, but was doing her best to hide it.

"I'm going to shift a few degreed and see if I can slow us down," Padme said and Mara nodded, then she glanced at the screen again.

"We're heating up," she warned.

_I know, I know. Now what did Ani say he did? Oh damn, I can't remember that bit...this was the bit where he always changed the story._

Padme played with the controls, opening and closing hatches, using the remaining steering thrusters to brake, anything to slow their fall.

"Whats our speed?" she asked Mara, who began reciting numbers again.

_We're too low, too soon _she realized. "Hang on, the heat shields have gone," she informed them and Leia gave a tiny, frightened squeak.

"There's a landing strip ahead," Mara cried in relief, pointing to a long strip ahead of them.

_Too low, too fast...too late, _Padme knew. _This isn't a landing, it's a controlled crash...and not a very controlled one either._

The ship rocked and they were all thrown forwards as it hit the landing strip then skidded along on it's belly, it's landing gear broken.

For one awful moment Padme thought they'd skid right off the end of the platform, but then to her relief thay ground to a halt a few feet away from the end.

_Well that went well _she thought, slumping back in her chair. There was blood in her mouth, and it had a salty, metalic taste, so she dabbed at her split lip with her sleeve, unbuckled herself and turned to the others.

"Not one of my better landings," she appologised and Leia laughed, relieved to be on the ground again. Infact, as Padme thought back over some of her more dignified landings, she couldn't remember ever crash landing before. She'd made emergency landings, but never crash landings.

After making sure that everyone was alright, they all made their way out of the smoke filled cab via a hole in the wall, seeing as the door had caved in.

Leia and Chewbacca had escaped unharmed, and Mara only had a slight cut on her cheek, so Padme was pleased with her first ever crash landing, until she looked at the smoldering wreck that had once been Mara's sleek silver ship.

_Oh dear, _she thought guiltily. _I'll buy her a new one when we get back home...wherever that may be, _she promised as they set off towards a large building nearby.

THE END

**A/N: Hey guys. Sorry, but I have decided to end this story here, and turn it into a three (possibly four) trilogy/story whatever you wanna call it. Well this is the end of the first part. As I said earlier, I need to do a little more research before writing the next part, and I also need to move house too, so I won't be posting for anything for a while, although I have loads of ideas for new stories aswell, so it's been great reading all your reviews, and I can definately say this has been my favourite story out of all the ones I've authored, and from the reviews and hits, I can safely say it's been your favourite too...so I just have one last thing to say to you all.**

**THANK YOU!**


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